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Inside the Mind of an Athlete: The Importance of the 12th Man

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By Debbie Edwards

Passion is a two-edged sword. In its positive form, passion can yield good results. It is an intense interest, a feeling of unusual excitement, a word of action. It evokes emotion so strong that it is contagious. Passion can be a good emotion, in that one person’s passion can incite another person or other people to attain a goal.

Take, for example, the Mapleton High School Mounties from Ashland County, Ohio. On Friday, October 24, 2014, they vie for the Conference Championship against St. Paul. There is an excitement that is evident through the words of senior running back Travis Pickering. He describes the feeling that he gets from the passionate crowd cheering their team on. “I hear the cheering of the crowd right when we step on the green mat to step onto the field. It really gets my blood pumping. It drives the team. It makes us feel like they’re here to support us.” Kudos to the 12th man at Mapleton High School. Their passion has been channeled as fuel for their team, and it is noticed by the veterans on that team. Some of the 12th man are former athletes. Some are parents. Some are fellow students. And while they don’t actually catch a pass, or block for a long run…..while they don’t recover a game-changing fumble or hit the game winning field goal, their emotion, their support, their passion drives those who do.

Everyone loves a winner. It’s easy to support a team that is in the hunt for a playoff spot. But what happens when the wins aren’t coming? What happens when there is no playoff berth in sight? How does fan support play into the mind of an athlete? What happens when the passion turns toxic? One athlete remarked that their fans cheer at the beginning of the games. The team responds positively to it. Unfortunately, when the team lost the lead, not only did the fans quit cheering, they left the game. He remarked that the fan base is known for this reaction. The old saying holds true, “it ain’t far from the penthouse to the outhouse”.

The Michigan Wolverines can attest to this change of scenery. In a thrilling overtime victory against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the Wolverines were crowned the 2012 Sugar Bowl Champions. Fast forward to the 2014 season, and the Wolverines are sitting on a 3-4 record. The passion of the 2011 season turned into poison in the 2014 season. It has been widely reported that Michigan Quarterback Devin Gardner has received about 1,000 pieces of hate mail via social networking due to fans’ displeasure of his performance. Obviously those fans have a short memory. As recently as last year, Gardner broke the single season passing record previously held by John Navarre. Yet fans have viciously taunted this young man. Why? This situation is the manifestation of passion gone awry. For fans to turn against a team that they purport to support is both stinging to their players and damages the players psyche. If positive energy from the 12th man can inspire and drive a team, as our young athletes tell us it does, should we not expect negative, cynical, and degrading words from their own fans to be demoralizing?

Most people would agree that the parent who interrupted a game in an attempt to hit his child but was caught by a referee was out of line. Most people would agree that taking the effort to contact an athlete with criticisms and rage shows unbalance. Psychologists say that such negativity is detrimental to both the athlete and the critic. It shows that the person has lost perspective on the importance of the game and that the person does not have much of a life outside of sports. If a fan or parent displays such malice towards a member of their own team, what expectations can we hold that they won’t display worse venom onto a rival team?

The 12th man has power, it is the power of the tongue. With any type of power, it can be used for good or it can be abused. Consider the words of a young man who has 19 rushing touchdowns and 2 receiving touchdowns after 8 games. “There’s no other feeling that can match the feeling of hearing the crowd roar! When I break out for a run or even just a solid hard-nose run and I hear the crowd roar, I just drive and drive.” So, if the passion that the crowd exhibits affects Travis Pickering in this manner, how does it affect your team? What effect does your words, your cheers, your shared thoughts have on our young athletes today? How will you use your power? Will you use it to build, encourage, and motivate your team? Regardless of the score, regardless of the outcome, regardless of the wins or losses, channel your passions to motivate your team. It does make a difference.

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